Amusement parks and theme parks provide a variety of rides and shows for the amusement and entertainment of their patrons. Some patrons visit the parks for the exhilarating rides, others come to view the special effects associated with the shows. Many simply appreciate the pleasurable diversions they encounter during their visit.
To make their patrons' visits more comfortable, the parks provide drinking fountains, restrooms and other facilities on the park grounds. These facilities, however, typically are not part of the show and do not incorporate the special effects that are associated with other features in the park. It should be appreciated, therefore, that adding special effects to drinking fountains and the like, would serve as another source of entertainment and novelty to the patrons.
Lighting effects have been previously known in connection with fountains and water faucets. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,749,126 and 4,901,922 to Kessener et al. In these patents, a light is introduced into the fluid stream and may be controlled to provide various visual effects. The latter patent also describes the use of a piezoelectric device for producing sound waves in the sonic or ultrasonic region. The sound waves are created, however, for the purpose of producing vibrations in the liquid medium, resulting in a particular visual effect. Neither of these patents discloses a fountain, faucet or other fixture having audible sounds that are intended to be heard by the patron.
From the above, it will be appreciated that there is still a need for a drinking fountain, faucet or other fixture that incorporates sound effects with the use of the fixture. The present invention satisfies this need.